Playa El Zonte

El Zonte is a town in La Libertad Department in El Salvador. A popular tourist destination, El Zonte has been described as a "world surfing mecca".[1] Playa El Zonte (English: El Zonte Beach; nicknamed Bitcoin Beach) became one of the first locales in the country to accept Bitcoin as a payment method, and inspired the country's adoption of Bitcoin as a legal tender.

El Zonte
El Zonte
Municipality
Country El Salvador
DepartmentLa Libertad
 • Mayor(ARENA)
Population
 • Urban
3,000

Town profile

El Zonte is a town with a population of 3,000. According to Reuters, "El Zonte is visibly poor, with dirt roads and a faulty drainage system."[2] El Zonte is located 26 mi (42 km) from San Salvador, the national capital.[3]

The local economy is heavily dependent on tourism, particularly surfing. According to France 24, El Zonte attracts tourists from United States, Canada, Europe, and Brazil looking to surf, with surfing classes costing between $10 and $50 an hour.

In El Zonte, a foreign volunteer-run program called the "Medusas" provide English and art education as well as low-cost surfing instruction.[4] Skateboarding is a popular activity among young residents of El Zonte, and a local community skatepark was established in the town.[5][6]

History

When an anonymous American began sending Bitcoin to nonprofits there, nonprofit workers began an initiative to start a local Bitcoin ecosystem.[7][8] The beach became one of the first places in El Salvador to accept Bitcoin as a method of payment: President Nayib Bukele cited the town as an inspiration for the law recognizing the cryptocurrency as one of El Salvador's two official currencies, alongside the U.S. Dollar.[9]

In 2022, the American network HBO premiered an episode of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that reported on the development of Bitcoin as a legal tender in El Zonte and how it has impacted the community.[10]

References
  1. "Children in El Salvador trying to surf their way from poverty to watersports - Taipei Times". Taipei Times. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  2. "In El Salvador's bitcoin beach town, digital divide slows uptake". Reuters. June 14, 2021.
  3. "At El Salvador's Bitcoin Beach, a glimpse of crypto economy". The Independent. 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  4. "Surf's up for poor kids seeking a better future in El Salvador". France 24. 2020-05-06. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  5. Creeper, Caitlin. "Meet the Kids of El Zonte, El Salvador's Burgeoning Youth Skate Community". The Inertia. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  6. "Bitcoin Beach: What Happened When an El Salvador Surf Town Went Full Crypto". Bloomberg.com. 2021-06-17. Retrieved 2022-05-10.
  7. "The father of el Salvador's Bitcoin Beach received an anonymous donation of a cryptocurrency fortune - now the local economy runs on it".
  8. Mak, Aaron (June 16, 2021). "What Happened When a 3,000-Person Village in El Salvador Became "Bitcoin Beach"". Slate Magazine.
  9. "El Salvador's Bitcoin Beach experiment highlights digital divide". South China Morning Post. June 15, 2021.
  10. "HBO premieres a documentary about Playa El Zonte, Bitcoin, and President Nayib Bukele". El Salvador in English (in Spanish). 2022-02-23. Retrieved 2022-05-10.

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